Mercedes drivers without cooling vests in Malaysia due to F1 cost cap
Mercedes drivers are unable to race with cooling vests at Malaysia this weekend as a consequence of F1's cost cap.
Mercedes drivers Andrea Kimi Antonelli and George Russell will race without cooling vests at the hottest Formula 1 race of the year due to cost cap restraints.
This weekend’s Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia has been declared F1’s third heat-hazard race of the 2026 season, with temperatures forecast to be more than 31C at some point during the race.
Temperatures in the cockpit of an F1 can be more than 40C, and at Sepang they could even reach 50C. The air temperature was above 33C and around 60C on track during Friday’s practice running.
Due to the ruling, drivers can use an in-car cooling system that flows cooled liquid through a series of pipes in a fireproof top worn under their overalls. For drivers that opt against the system, teams must carry 5kg of ballast in their car to ensure no competitive advantage is gained.
But Russell and championship leader Antonelli will not be allowed to wear a cooling vest in Malaysia because Mercedes prioritised spending its money on upgrading its car, having brought a major update to its W17.
Russell said the decision is a direct consequence of teams being capped at spending £163m over the course of the season.
“We won’t be running the cooling vest because we haven’t put the resource into making it robust enough,” Russell was quoted as saying by The Times.
“I feel we need the FIA just to step in and say, ‘Here’s some money extra in the cost cap,’ or there’s an external company who’s going to develop it for everybody, you just put the money towards it. Because we should all be wearing it.
“When it works, it works great. So I would like to wear it this week, and I would like to wear it next week. But the team asked me … look, we can develop it, and we can put the money towards it [but at the cost of performance].”
According to Russell, Ferrari’s and McLaren’s drivers will be using the cooling vests in Malaysia.
Russell was among a number of drivers who needed medical attention for either dehydration or heat exhaustion amid extreme temperatures at the 2023 Qatar Grand Prix.
Lewis regularly attends Grands Prix for Crash.net around the world. Often reporting on the action from the ground, Lewis tells the stories of the people who matter in the sport.
